The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Pubs have Launched this Year's Parliamentary Pub of the Year Awards.  This award focuses on celebrating pubs in our community and will give 650 MPs the opportunity to nominate a pub to be recognised as the Parliamentary pub of the Year.

Whilst the row in the Supreme Court about whether Parliament should be sitting or not drags on, I have taken the opportunity to get out and about across Pendle.

In last week’s column I mentioned my ongoing dialogue with Ministers to make the case for Pendle being included in the £3.6 billion Towns Fund.   I am delighted that my efforts paid off, with a deal of up to £25 million agreed for Nelson. 

Away from the seemingly endless and unproductive Brexit debates in Parliament this week, my focus has firmly remained on my job – delivering for Pendle.

For many young people and their families, the last few weeks have been stressful to say the least.

For Earby residents, watching the events at the damaged Whaley Bridge dam may have brought back difficult memories of the 2015 Boxing Day floods that engulfed Earby, flooding homes and businesses. Anyone who has experienced flooding will know how disruptive it is.

On Sunday we heard about the death of former Mayor of Pendle Tony Beckett.  Tony was a popular figure across Pendle for both his work as a Councillor and for his work outside his political life.

When I was first elected in 2010, the main challenge we faced was getting the economy back under control. Following the biggest recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s unemployment was shooting up.

Last night I voted with the Government to keep no deal on the table. It is unbelievable that MP’s want to tie the Prime Ministers hands in the middle of the negotiations with the EU.

Next week is National Organ Donor Week. I want encourage as many people to talk about Organ Donations with their family and friends. Organ Donation Week is a great opportunity for donor families, transplant patients, the wider NHS and organisations to reinforce the importance of organ donation.